


Escape (The Piña Colada Song)

by EllieHeggles



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Interactive Fiction, M/M, Reader-Interactive, Slow To Update, sorry im a mess, twitter: anelegantwalrus, u know the drill everyone is gay af
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-07-25 05:39:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16191200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieHeggles/pseuds/EllieHeggles
Summary: The Howard Stark Grant is gifted annually to students with exceptional circumstances to pay for tuition.When Thor and Peter are both gifted with this grant, they discover that the only way they can feasibly pay for a flat is to marry each other.(An interactive AU on Twitter at: @ anelegantwalrus!)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [castielfalls](https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielfalls/gifts).



Thor stood at the back of the room, waiting for Brunn. He was at an Admission Session for Empire State University. He had been accepted to study a joint honours course in English Literature and Women’s History with a grant that paid his tuition fees. He would still have to work while he studied, but it was a lot of pressure off him.

“Geez, there’s no fricking space, Gamora.” He heard a voice he recognised coming from behind him. Peter Quill walked up from behind him.

“You should have been ready earlier.” Gamora scolded. He knew Peter and Gamora from school. When his father passed away, only a couple of months ago, Peter had been the one to awkwardly come up to him and Loki and explained that he had lost his mother, father and adoptive father. Thor had felt so detached from the rest of society until that moment, Peter had popped his bubble of misery.

“Oh, he-hey!” Peter punched Thor’s arms lightly, Gamora gave him an expectant look and he continued, “Are you waiting for someone? Or do you want to sit with us?”

“I’m waiting for my friend, Brunn, actually.” Thor smiled, but shook his head, “But thanks! And congrats on getting in.”

“Thanks.” Peter nodded slowly and Gamora tugged at his hand gently. They left and Thor watched them take their seats about halfway up the crowd. The interaction had been awkward and Thor wondered if Peter had felt it too. Barely a minute passed and there were running footsteps up the corridor and Brunn appeared, ponytail swinging and out of breath.

“Am I late?” She gasped.

“No. I told you the wrong time.” He smirked and stuck an arm for her, she took it and they walked to the nearest seats - the back row had two seats spare - they took them and Brunn leant into Thor.

“I hate you.” She told him, pretending to punch his stomach.

“I love you too.” He replied, kissing the top of her head. Only a few moments passed before the crowd became quiet and a man walked on to the stage in front of them all, “Wow. A pirate running our college? Amazing.” Thor whispered to Brunn, who snorted loudly. The President of the university was a black, bald man in a long leather coat. Over one eye, as Thor had pointed out, he wore an eyepatch. He spoke at length about how the university strives for an inclusive community for all and aims to aid the advancement of academia. Thor switched off. He should’ve gone to work instead. He knew all that the President was saying. Then, he said something that grabbed his attention.

“During this session, you’ll be able to speak to your potential subject professors and lecturers, as well as our accommodation administrator and director of admissions.” He said, “Any questions? No? Good.” And abruptly, he left the stage in scattered applause.

“I want to meet my professors,” Thor told Brunn. He was already standing, a head taller than the crowd.

“But, you need to talk to the accommodation administrator.” She reminded him, “You need to get a cheap room.”

 

He scanned the room. In one corner he saw the English professors under a banner that was decorated with the covers of books. Whereas a line was quickly forming in front of a woman who was sitting at her desk looking blasé as the swarm of people came closer to her.

“Accommodation first,” Thor said, already taking Brunn’s hand and striding towards the line, “Then I’ll go talk to my English professor so I can get my reading list.” They joined the queue and were sandwiched almost immediately by two people talking behind them and two people standing silently.

“Dude, I’m just saying, if my grant pays for all my tuition costs, then it should pay for my textbooks and all that junk, they’re super expensive!” One of them was saying. It was undeniably Quill, again, with Gamora. 

“I don’t know exactly how they’d give you the money for that though.” The other responded, then tapped Thor’s arm, he turned and gave Gamora a quizzical smile, “If you were given a grant that paid for your tuition, would you expect it to pay for your textbooks?” She asked him. He paused. He had been awarded the Howard Stark Grant that paid for his tuition, he was pretty sure he had been sent an email explaining what could be paid for with the grant and what he would have to buy himself.

“There should’ve been an email telling you that, I got one when they gave me the Howard Stark thing.” He said. Gamora looked annoyed at Peter, giving him a look that read  _ ‘Idiot,’ _ but Peter simply looked confused.

“The Howard Stark thing? You mean the grant?” Peter asked. Brunn had turned around at this point and, despite being nearly foot taller than her, Thor always felt braver with her there to back him up.

“Yeah.” Brunn responded for Thor, “Why?”

“Because I was given the grant too.” He squinted, despite the light not being bright.

“They must have given it to two people this year.” Gamora tugged Peter’s hand.

“If they hadn’t-” He mumbled to her, receiving a hissed “Shut it.” in return.

Brunn was far from happy as they moved slowly closer to the front of the queue. Thor could tell that she didn’t like Peter, and was certain that Peter didn’t like him. He didn’t mind Peter, in fact, he was almost glad that Peter had the grant too, it almost took the pressure off of him. He had been cautious to accept that grant, it was a large sum of money and he wasn’t sure if he was the most deserving person, but between Brunn and Loki’s pushing and how his job took up his energy, he had accepted it.

By the time he had taken himself out of his thoughts, he was the next in the queue. The accommodation administrator was a young woman, according to the placard on her desk, called Maria Hill. She was speaking to the people in front in a friendly but serious manner. As they walked away, she smiled at Thor and Brunn.

“How can I help you guys?” She asked, and Thor explained how had the grant but still needed cheap accommodation.

“Well, you can apply for a bursary, but the best ones are for different people and it’s not common that we’ll offer a bursary to someone who already has a grant and doesn’t fulfil another circumstance.”

“W-what are the circumstances I’d have to have?” He asked, feeling his anxiety building like his nerves had too much electricity.

“For the highest bursaries, be over twenty-five, have a child or be married.” She explained, she grabbed a pamphlet off her desk, “This goes into more details about financial planning. Call the number here -” She tapped the number given on the pamphlet, “- if you have any more questions.” 

“Uh, okay.” Thor took the pamphlet and frowned, they left Hill’s table, letting Gamora and Peter take their turn.

“You wanna get some air, big guy?” Brunn asked, just loud enough for no one but Thor to hear. He nodded and when Brunn dragged him, he followed blindly until she was tugging his hand down and he found himself sitting on a bench outside the hall, overlooking a grass part of the campus. He sat for a few minutes, breathing in the balmy midsummer air

“I can either wait for seven years until I'm twenty-five or have a kid or get married.” He groaned, “But if I'm twenty-five they probably won't give me the grant and then I'll be in deeper shit! And you know, I like kids, but not right now!” He sighed, shakily, “I guess I have to get married.”

“Thor-” She started but was interrupted.

“Hey.” Gamora had evidently left Peter in the hall and was coming towards the two, “I just want to apologise for Peter. He’s just stressed about it all. And I know he should be apologising, but he just found out he’s probably not going to be able to get a bursary for accommodation.”

“Does he need to get married too?” Thor asked, dryly.

“Yeah. And I just told him that I’m deferring for a year to travel, so he can’t marry me.” She explained with a shrug.

“I guess you’re marrying Quill, Thor.” Brunn nudged him.

 

It was ridiculous, the fact that Thor was even trying to talk Peter into this. He had shrugged Brunn’s comment off, but it had kept him awake. If they got married, they’d get a nicer apartment for the same cost and be able to cut down on maintenance costs. And they could just get divorced after they graduate. In fact, Thor had been researching, thirty-five dollars for a marriage licence and in a few years, less than four hundred dollars for an uncontested divorce, considerably less than what they would save.

Peter, himself, was sitting alone on a picnic bench, orange headphones on and eyes closed. Brunn had told him how the news was slowly spreading around the school that Peter and Gamora had broken up and that’s why Peter had been posting sad lyrics on his Snapchat. Thor walked and sat next to him. He opened his eyes at the movement of the bench.

“Man, what do you want?” He asked, “My girlfriend broke up with me and now I have to deal with you?”

“I’m sorry about you and Gamora.” Thor explained, leaning back but not looking at Peter, “But I have a proposition for you.” Peter made a soft, curious sound and took his headphones off. “So, we both have this grant and neither of us fit any of the criteria for a good bursary, but we could.”

“I’m not having a kid. I’m way too - y’know.” He trailed off.

“No, and I’m not talking about waiting until we’re twenty-five.” He took a deep breath, “We’re both eighteen, and so is my brother and friend. We could get married and have them be witnesses. Or one of your friends too.” Peter raised his eyebrows.

“I’m-  I’m straight.” He stammered.

“I know. But we can get a divorce in a few years once we’ve graduated and we’d have successfully finessed the system.” Peter laughed at Thor.

“There is no way the word “finessed” actually came out of your mouth.” He had to fight a laugh back as he spoke.

“Loki says it all the time, it just slips out sometimes.” Thor chuckled, “But, seriously, about the marriage thing?” Peter sighed and watched people walking past them without glancing in their direction.

“How much is it?” He was almost whispering it into the air.

“A license is thirty-five.”

“Thirty-five bucks?” He asked and Thor nodded, “And divorce costs?”

“Under four hundred if it’s amicable and we don’t get lawyers involved.” This was the cost that worried Thor, surely this would be the point where Peter would say no. Thor held his breath as Peter considered it.

“That’s less than we’d save, right?” He asked, and Thor breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s less than we’d save a term if we split maintenance costs too, which is likely because we’ll probably have to live together,” Thor explained.

“Oh, okay.” Peter nodded, “When are you going to properly propose to me?” He asked, now a smirk playing on his lips.

“I just did!” Thor replied, indignantly, and they both laughed.

“Fair enough. I’ll ask Gamora to witness.” He nodded, “Who are you going to ask? I think we can only have two witnesses.”

Thor raised his eyebrows, “My brother, I guess.” He took the phone of his pocket, “I’ll text him now.” He typed quickly and less than a minute later, the sound of a reply rent the air, “He’ll do it.”

“Cool. Cool, cool cool.” Peter nodded, “Cool.” He was, apparently, nervous now. Thor guessed that asking Gamora would be nerve-racking for him.

The rest of the day, Thor didn’t see Peter but was constantly hearing about him from other people. He had been speaking to Gamora and that was making people confused. The school day ended and, as Thor walked out of the gates, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you want to do the thing today?” It was Peter, “The, uh,” Peter leant closer, “marriage.” Thor shook his head.

“I’m working. We can do it at the weekend, Saturday morning, maybe?” He suggested.

“That should work. Snapchat me, I’ll send you my number.” He flashed Thor a smile, “It’s “star”, hyphen, “lord”, no spaces and all lowercase.” And with that, Peter disappeared.

Over the next two days, Thor was engrossed in texting and snapchatting Peter. They spoke about their relationship (they ensured their contacts for each other read “Husband” and a collection of sickeningly sweet emojis), school and their lives that most people at school were hardly aware of. By the time Saturday morning arrived and Thor - Loki in tow - was at the Office of the City Clerk, he felt that he knew Peter, not the Star-Lord exterior he was constantly presenting at school.

“My future husband! Hey man!” Peter’s voice rang through the street. Next to him stood Gamora, the tips of her hair contrasting against the green dress she wore. Peter himself wore a crisp white shirt, tucked into his jeans at the front completed with a slim black tie tied badly. Thor’s outfit was almost identical, with the exception of his sleeves being rolled up and his tie being thicker and tied into a perfect Windsor knot.

“Your future husband can’t tie a tie,” Loki muttered. Their outfit was the comfiest of all, wearing a green shirt, black jeans, a black teddy coat and a tie not unlike Peter’s.

“Come here.” Thor beckoned and Peter wrapped his arm around Thor’s shoulders, “No, I meant so I redo your tie.” Peter’s ears went red at their tips and he moved his arm quickly.

“I was never taught.” He admitted as Thor undid his shameful attempt at a half Windsor.

“That’s why you have me.” Thor told him, “First, the ends should be a ruler length apart.” He arranged the tie accordingly, “Then you wrap the wide end over the skinny end. The wide  end goes through the back loop.” He showed Peter slowly as he spoke, “Then ‘round the back again and through the loop at the front. And tighten!” He pulled the tie up and fixed Peter’s collar. Loki hummed their approval as Thor moved away from Peter.

“Thanks.” Peter stroked his tie flat, “Let’s get married!”

In the city clerk’s office, they had to wait for only a few minutes, as they did, Loki pulled out a small box and passed it to Thor with a monotonous “here.” Upon opening them, Thor saw two rings made of hammered sterling silver.

“You needed wedding rings.” Loki shrugged

“That’s why you asked for my finger size?” Thor and Peter both asked their respective witnesses. They both grinned. Yet, before they could query them any further, an elderly official called them into the small chapel.

He introduced himself as Stan and in the room, they filled out their marriage registration form. Thor going first and Peter second. Gamora and Loki signed to confirm that neither people were being coerced with smiles and passed the rings to the clerk before he began

“The wedding ring is a symbol of unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end.” He showed a ring to the four people in the room, “And today, Peter and Thor give and receive these rings as demonstrations of their vows to make their life one, to work at all times to create a love that is whole and unbroken, and to love each other without end.” When saying each name, Stan nodded to each man, “Now you kids say your vows.” He told them and both pulled a piece paper out of their pocket. Stan gave Peter one of the rings.

“Thor,” Peter began, “I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband.” At every pause, Peter looked up at Thor, a wide smile on his face, “Before these witnesses, I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live.” He reached out and took Thor’s hand in his own, “I take you, with all your faults and strengths, as I offer myself to you with all my faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help, and will turn to you when I need help,” He paused, “especially when I need someone to do my tie. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.” He placed the ring on Thor’s left ring finger. His eyes hardly left Peter as he took the ring from Stan and held it to Peter.

“Peter, I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband. Before these witnesses,” He grinned as Loki who shot him a half smile back, “I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live.” He mirrored Peter’s actions and took Peter’s hand in his own, “I take you, with all your faults and strengths, as I offer myself to you with all my faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help and will turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.” He put the ring on Peter’s finger.

“Peter and Thor, just as two very different threads woven in opposite directions can form a beautiful tapestry, so can your two lives merge together to form a very beautiful marriage.” The clerk continued with the formalities, despite the small number of people. “To make your marriage work will take love. Love should be the core of your marriage, love is the reason you are here. But it also will take trust - to know in your hearts you want the best for each other. It will take dedication - to stay open to one another; to learn and to grow together even when this is not always so easy to do. It will take faith, to be willing to go forward to tomorrow, never really knowing what tomorrow will bring. In addition, it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey, you both now pledge to share together.” He looked up from his sheet of paper, “Peter and Thor, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, I now declare you to be married. Congratulations, you may kiss your groom.” Gamora and Loki applauded, but Thor hardly heard it, Peter was pulling him so gently towards him. They had said they would kiss when they were discussing this, but Thor had entered a state of panic as his lips came into contact with Peter’s and they were kissing, their eyes were closed and their lips were on each other. And it wasn’t just a little bit. It was - despite Peter’s straightness - passionate and the type of kiss Thor had only ever read of. It was just right. Peter ended the kiss all too soon for Thor’s liking.

“They’ll never know we’re not really in love now.” He whispered to Thor, embracing him. Thor nodded, “Also I have work in like an hour.” He spoke in a normal voice.

“Yeah,” Thor responded, his throat dry. They were given their marriage certificate and Stan congratulated them again.

They had actually gone through with it, and it felt like a dream in the oddest way. Thor knew now they had to apply for the bursary and that would probably be the last of Peter he’d see until college. And that was just fine. Because Thor was confused about Peter. And Peter was confused about Thor.


	2. "Wait for the common sense of morning"

"Wait for the common sense of morning."

H.G Wells, The Time Machine

* * *

 

Thor had been officially married for a few months now and he had been working flat out for most of it. First, at school - he had wanted to ensure his grades were high before starting college - and then at his job. He worked as a painter for a decorator, so for his entire summer, he had been covered in smudges of paint and dust from sanding down walls. He would be leaving and that sucked, but it was also a blessing. He had been working with the company for the last few years and when his father had passed away, they had just raised his pay a little to allow him to work a couple of hours less and keep himself afloat with the housework he had to do. And now, he had packed his life into boxes and suitcases. All his kitchen equipment in one box and all his books in other. His apartment felt empty and echoed as he rattled around it for the last time for months. Loki would still be living there with their partner, but Thor was beginning to feel like it was a stranger’s apartment. The decor had changed and Loki had had him repaint a couple of walls, Thor had obliged and it had changed the space.

“Come on. Your husband will have beat you to it.” Loki told him, they were leaning on the door frame, their phone in one hand and the keys to Thor’s car in the other hand. Thor turned and smiled.

“Alright. Let’s go.” He walked towards his brother and took the keys from them. The car was jam-packed and adding Loki and Thor only made it more cramped. Loki sighed and put their window down.

“What kind of homophobia is this?” They groaned, head lolling on to their right shoulder as they fanned themselves.

“You’re wearing that fluffy jacket again, I don’t know what you expected,” Thor told them, putting the car into gear, “Are you sure you’re okay to drive home?”

“I may be gay, but I can drive.” They sighed, Thor was manoeuvring out of his parking space, “And I’m wearing the jacket for the look.”

“Okay.” Thor nodded, “I don’t trust your driving skills, but if you do, that’s fine by me.” Loki rolled their eyes and made themself comfortable, taking the aux cord dangling from the stereo and plugging it into his phone.

“Do you think Peter will actually be there before you?” They asked, flicking through their phone.

“I have no idea. Our time slot is the same so he should be there about the same time with Gamora.” Thor sighed, “Are you going to put some music on or what?”

By the time the siblings arrived, Thor had received several texts from Peter.

_Packing is a lot of effort :/_

_Gamora is here now, I think I’ll be on time_

_Actually, I’m going to be late, sorry husband :///_

_Okay, I have a different slot, I’ll see you after lunch :)_

“We’re here first,” Thor told Loki as they both sat in the car. And then the unpacking overtook all thoughts of Peter. First they went back and forth from the flat and the car, Thor’s luggage was intended to be piled in the small living area of the flat, however, it was left in the hall by the stairs as soon as Loki had realised that the flat was upstairs.

Only Peter and Thor would live in the flat and with the bursary they both received, their rent was cut down considerably. Their flat was in a group with other couples, according to the pamphlet Thor had received in the mail, their building holding a total of eight people, two couples on the bottom floor and another couple across the hall from Peter and Thor upstairs.

“This is the last from the car.” Thor held a heavy box of books in his hands, Loki locked the car as they shut the boot, “Now you actually have to bring them upstairs with me.”

“I’m putting it in the elevator.” They pocketed the keys as they walked. Thor rolled his eyes.

Loki’s idea worked, for the most part, Thor stood at the top of the elevator, taking the boxes out and putting them into the originally intended place of the living area. It was a small room with a comfy loveseat, coffee table and television. There were doors to the kitchen and bedroom around the room and a hall that was hardly two feet long leading to the door. However, they soon found that some of the boxes were too heavy for Thor to pull out and required Thor to hold them as the elevator moved.

“Do you need me to help you put stuff away?” Loki asked Thor as they stood together in the living area, they gestured to the mountain of boxes.

“I can do it myself. I’ll walk you back to the car.” He sighed and began making his way to the car. He was going to miss Loki. Between they had their problems, but Loki had been there when Thor had realised he was bisexual and got him to ask Bruce out and equally, Thor had been there for Loki when they came out as genderfluid and pansexual and both had supported each other after their parent’s deaths.

“Alright.” Loki sighed, arms folded as they leaned against the driver’s door, “Call me if you need me for anything.” Thor laughed.

“I’m supposed to tell you that. If you need anything, I’ll be straight there.” He told his brother, gripping their arm, “I’m going to miss you.” Loki rolled their eyes and then unravelled their arms and hugging their brother tightly.

“I’ll miss you too,” Loki admitted, “Okay, now you’re going to walk away and then we’re both going to hold back our tears.” They ended the hug and Thor smiled.

“See you soon.” Thor nodded, turning away as he heard the car unlock and Loki open the door. Beginning to walk, he laughed wetly as he wiped his eyes. He knew Loki would be just fine without him, but it didn’t stop him from worrying about his youngest sibling.

He returned to his building to find a woman holding a large box in her hands, struggling to reach the door.

“Do you want a hand?” He asked her, she turned and smiled.

“Could you take this box for me?” She asked and Thor was startled to hear an English accent.

“Of course.” He took the box out of her hands. It was heavy and when he peered in, he discovered it was full of books.

“Thank you so much, I’m on the second floor and I didn’t know how I was going to put that down and my Ange is in the flat.” She told him, holding the door for him, “I’ll get the lift for you.” She walked ahead of him in the hall splitting the two downstairs apartments, pressing the button to call the elevator. It barely took a moment for the doors to slide open and the two to enter.

“I guess we’re neighbours then.” Thor smiled, his voice was strained from the weight of the box, “I’m in the other flat.”

“Wonderful. I’m Peggy, by the way.” She smiled and took the box from Thor as the door opened. He followed behind her when she walked out.

“Thor. I’ll, uh, see you around.” She nodded to him and went into her apartment. She was definitely stronger than she looked. Thor had struggled to carry the box but she had looked perfectly fine carrying it, with not a curl out of place. He assumed that even her hair daren’t disobey her. He entered his own apartment and immediately saw the mountain of _stuff_ he had to unpack. With a stretch and a groan, he began his task.

Thor’s phone buzzed the moment he finished folding the last box flat. It was Peter letting him know that he was outside, ready to start unloading his car and asking about dinner.

 

Thor replied quickly that he would be happy to cook for him. He stood in the kitchen and sighed. He had food but - and he had conveniently forgotten to tell Peter - he couldn’t cook very well. Loki was one hell of a cook, they would take what Thor had in front of him (some pasta, onions, garlic, tomato paste and mince) and would make it a delicious spaghetti bolognese. Sure, Loki had sent him all of their recipes, but they just didn’t make sense to Thor at all. Slowly he began to put the ingredients together. He cooked the mince with onions and seasoning, then the sauce and spaghetti separately. He could hear Peter and Gamora chatting as they carried boxes and it tugged on Thor’s poor heart. He had spoken to Peter about his break-up with Gamora and it turned out it had been amicable. Gamora was travelling for a year (evidently, with Brunn and a group of other Brunn’s friends) and Peter had the gut feeling it wouldn’t work. That’s when he had decided to marry Thor. Thor let out a small laugh at the ridiculousness of what was going on around him. His husband wasn’t who had assumed it would’ve been (he had guessed it would’ve been Bruce, had he not been accepted to Desert State University, down in Navajo, New Mexico, weeks before Thor had finished his own application), and it still felt bizarre to call Peter - a straight guy - his husband.

It took nearly an hour for Thor to finish cooking the dinner. He wasn’t sure about how good any of it was, but the spaghetti seemed cooked and the mince wasn’t pink, so it was probably edible. Peter had told him he’d go and wave Gamora off and be back for dinner, now that they had finished unpacking Peter’s stuff. The sauce and meat was already stirred into the pasta and topped with a sprinkling of parmesan on top and plated up between two plates (the recipe was for four, but Thor had scraped every morsel out of the pan and divided it up as equally as he could) and put the two plates, a knife and fork and a glass of water each on the table.

“Dude, I can eat a horse.” Peter’s voice echoed through the apartment as he walked in the door.

“The lesbians across the hall are going to hate you if you keep doing that.” Thor scolded, a laugh in his voice as he spoke.

“We already have neighbours?” Peter’s face came into view, Thor nodded at him, “You met them?”

“Just one of them.” He gestured to the seat opposite to him, “Sit down and eat already. She was British.”

“You get along with lesbians?” Peter asked, sitting down in front of his plate.

“I guess. Lesbians really love me for me some reason.” Thor shrugged, “I’ll protect them if I see a guy annoying them.”

“How?”

“Start chatting him up. Works almost everytime. If it doesn’t, I didn’t learn how to fight for nothing.” He gave Peter a half smile, “Have you tried it? I’m not great at cooking so-”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” Peter flashed a smile back, but it quickly slipped from his face when he put a large forkful of the dish in his mouth, “You really can’t cook, can you?” He asked. He seemed also impressed at the lack of talent Thor had in the kitchen.

“What’s wrong it?” He questioned. Thor could feel his ears turning red.

“There’s just nothing to it. Did you add seasoning?”

“I added mixed herbs and salt and pepper.”

“What about a bay leaf? Maybe get wild with some red chilli? Or, I don’t know, a little bacon?” Peter listed.

“Look, I don’t think about this, if I can eat it and not die, it’s fine!”

“Okay, from now on,” Peter took another forkful of the dish, “I’m cooking, you’re cleaning.”

“Deal.” Thor nodded, “But we have to teach each other for when we split up.” Thor held his fork out, pointing at Peter.

“Fair enough.” Peter’s words were muffled by a mouthful of spaghetti, but he held his fork out, putting the prongs in between that of Thor’s fork and shaking it, he swallowed, “Deal.”

Peter washed the dishes as Thor pottered about the kitchen, ensuring that their little kitchen was clean and orderly. Peter seemed lost in thought as he stared passed if he could see beyond the ceramics in his hands.

“What's up?” Thor asked him in passing. Thor was watering the plant that Peter had put on the windowsill, the soil around it was bone dry, the plant had a name on the pot 'Groot’.

“Well, they think that we're, y'know, married,” Peter explained, Thor raised his eyebrows.

“And?”

“And married people share a bed. So they've only given us one.” He continued, “So, one of us should take the couch, and we can switch every night.”

“Fair enough.” Thor nodded, “You wanna take the bed first?” He offered, a slight smile on his lips.

“No, you should. You cooked and you’ve been here all day cleaning and stuff. I’ll be okay on the couch.” Peter grinned.

“As long as you sure-” Thor gave Peter a final chance, but Peter rolled his eyes, “Okay, and you’ll take the bed tomorrow.”

And so, the evening passed with a long conversation on their couch and crap television. It was only when Peter let out a long, loud yawn that Thor looked at his watch and realised it was nearly midnight. He felt a wave of tiredness wash over him.

“Okay, I’m going to bed,” Thor stood and stretched and smiled, “I’ll see you in the morning, my dear.” They had already grabbed a spare comforter that Peter had brought with him and left it, folded neatly, underneath their coffee table.

“Oh, I’ll get some sweats before you do, I don’t want to wake you up later,” Peter told him, hopping off the couch, his fist on the top of his open palm. And then he rushed off in his own whirlwind of activity. That was something Thor liked about Peter. They were both storms when they wanted to be, and most assumed (for Thor, at least, but it was a fair assumption that it was applicable to both) that’s that all they were. But then Peter would stop and talk. There was a wall up when he did, but slowly - oh, so slowly - Thor could see it being chipped away. He only hoped that he would be able to let his own barriers down enough for Peter to know him.

“Alrighty, sleep well, husband.” Peter had returned, some old sweatpants and a t-shirt hung over his arm. He emphasised ‘husband’ with that grin he always wore.

“Dream of me.” Thor winked and with a chuckle, walked into the bedroom Peter had just come from. Stripping down to his underwear, he fell into the bed. With his phone plugged in, he let his eyes drift shut.

Peter, too, fell asleep quickly, though almost an hour after Thor did. Though, unlike Thor, his sleep was far from deep. He tossed and turned and almost slipped off the couch, before, finally, half asleep, rose from his doze and, not thinking, stumbled into the bedroom and clambering into the bed, next to the warm sleeping Thor.

It was in a state of hazy confusion that Thor awoke. He thought he had fallen asleep alone last night, but now he had an arm wrapped around him. Loki hadn’t gotten into his bed for a long time, the poor soul used to have nightmares and relied on Thor to keep at them at bay for a long time. But Loki was skinnier and paler than this arm, and they were always cold. This body next to him was warm on his skin and was breathing so softly that, had he been unable to feel the tickle on his neck, he would’ve thought him dead. Bruce was his next thought, but he was in New Mexico. He turned his head slowly and saw the soft, sleeping face of Peter. It was a juxtaposition to his tornado personality. He turned back, trying to keep his mouth from smiling. He let his eyes fall shut once more. When he opened them, Peter was gone.

Hours past and neither Thor nor Peter brought up the bedsharing. Thor was quietly pleased, but Peter seemed almost embarrassed. The group of apartments they lived in had plans for each building. The four couples all met in a private room in the nearest library. Eight people in total sat around the table.

“So, uh,” Thor broke the silence, “I guess we should introduce ourselves and say what course we’re doing?” He looked around the table and saw seven heads nodding, “Okay, well, I’m Thor Odinson and I’m studying English Lit and women’s studies. Pete?” Peter gave him a look of betrayal.

“I’m Peter Quill and I’m doing music. We both kept our own surnames.” He shrugged at the slight confusion on the woman’s face next to him. “Who’s next?” The woman next to her began speaking.

“I’m Nebula. Studying mechanical engineering. This is Mantis, she’s studying psychology.” She explained, her wife smiled brightly as she did so.

“I swear I’ve met you before.” Peter pointed at her, “Did you go to the same high school as me?”

“You used to date my half-sister.” Nebula explained and he gasped. But before he could speak, she interrupted, “Next person?”

“Steve, I’m reading fine art.” He was a tall, incredibly muscular man. Had Thor not been a similar build and studying for a degree in what had been described as “a degree in respecting women”, he would’ve found it funny.

“Oh, uh, I’m James, but call me Bucky. I’m doing natural science. Yeah.” He nodded. Thor noticed that one of his arms had been replaced by a metal prosthetic, Bucky looked to the woman next to him.

“Oh, I’m Angie!” A strong New York accent came bursting out of her, “I’m a theatre student and this is _English_ -” She took Peggy’s hand as she began to talk, but Peggy’s cool, calm voice cut in.

“I can introduce myself, thank you, Ange.” She smiled, “I’m Margaret Carter, though I go by Peggy. I’m reading English literature and women’s studies.”

The group slowly began talking, all were married couples and all living in Mirabilis - Thor hadn’t known the name of the area they lived in until Bucky had mentioned it - in the building “Phase 1”. They discussed how each couple met and their weddings. Both Peter and Thor managed to regurgitate the meeting they had created before their wedding that was considerably cuter than getting married for financial purposes. It was a thrilling tale of both assuming they had a one-sided love and their siblings pushing them to each other.

Then Nebula brought up an important question.

“Right, so what are we doing this evening?” She asked, “Because I know Phase 2 and 3 are having a party, but I don’t know if you guys are into parties or-?”

“We’d quite happily have you all over for just some drinks and board games, we’ll keep the door open. No pressure on any of you, of course.” Peggy spoke. She smiled and Thor, in slight awe, noticed her perfect red lip.

“I think our time is up, we’ve only got this room for a half hour.” Bucky looked at his watch on his real arm, “We’ll see each other later, but I know I’ve got a NatSci meeting now.” He explained, standing. The group dispelled, and Peter and Thor walked first round the library and then back to their apartment.

“What do you want to do?” Peter asked, “Tonight?” Then he flushed, “I mean, do you want to go to Peggy’s or the Phase party? I don’t mind either way.”

“Me neither.” He fumbled in his pocket and pulled a coin out, “Heads or tails-”

“What kind of coin is that?” Peter’s voice rose an octave as he looked at the coin.

“It’s just a five kroner, about sixty cents. It’s Norwegian.” Thor explained, then added, “like me. Heads or tails?”

“Heads for Peggy’s, tails for Phase.” A nod of understanding was shared between the two and Thor flipped the coin into his palm and covered it.

 

Moving his hand slowly, he revealed the coin.

“Look, man, I don’t know if that’s heads or tails.” Peter laughed.

“Heads.” Thor flipped in the coin over, “This is the tails.” He rubbed the middle of the coin with his finger. He often wondered how different his life would be if his family had stayed in Norway. How different it would be to not have Loki, American born and adopted before he could get a chance to know anything else. He wondered what friends he would have if not Brunn and Bruce and Peter. And he had just made friends with six more people that he would have never met.

“Y’okay? You wanna go to Peggy’s?” The feeling of Peter’s arm on his wrist shook him out of his thought. He shone the other a smile.

“Of course. I’m not a big party person, to be honest.” He felt his face flush, but Peter laughed and his arm moved from Thor’s wrist into his hand. Instinctively, Thor held on as they restarted their walk.

“I always drink too much.” The brunet admitted, “I get all anxious and clammy and I just drink until it goes away. Peggy’s should be fun.” He finally nodded and returned Thor’s grin with a twitch in the corner of his mouth. Gently, Thor squeezed Peter’s hand.

“I think so.”

Most first years studying for bachelors of science had meetings with their department heads, though Peter and Thor, both studying for bachelors of art, had meetings timetabled for the next day. They spent the majority of the day looking around the campus and finding the rooms their meetings would be in. Thor had toured the university once before (and had fallen in love with his course) so it was vaguely familiar to him, but Peter walked around the campus perfectly at ease, as if he had always meant to be there. Smiling internally and hand interlinked with Peter’s, Thor thought of fate.

Then, still half in a daze, Thor found himself in his apartment. Peter mumbled something about showering and disappeared into the bathroom. Thor, having showered earlier, simply changed into more formal wear, a grey t-shirt, a new pair of jeans and a long red blazer (a gift from Loki). He tied his hair back into a low ponytail, leaving a few strands to frame his face. He finished dressing and heard the water in the shower turn off.

“Are you going to take forever to get dressed, should I go to Peggy’s now?” He shouted through the bathroom door.

“No, I’m-” There were a thud and a groan.

“Are you okay?” Thor’s hand was on the door handle, ready to enter if he was needed.

“I’m fine, I just smacked my hand on the towel rack. I’m ready anyway.” Then the door opened and Thor raised his eyebrows.

“Are you really wearing those?” He could hear Loki’s snarky influence coming out of his mouth as he surveyed the outfit. He wore a t-shirt, the same he had worn earlier, and a pair of almost entirely black shorts, except for a design up the leg.

“Yeah. They’re my party shorts.” He patted the gym shorts, “They’ve got flames on them.”

“Fair enough.” Thor shrugged. He wouldn’t force Peter change. Not this time, at least. But in the future, perhaps lightly suggest he should at least wear jeans or a clean t-shirt, “Should we go?”

“Do we need to bring anything?” Peter slipped his phone into the pocket of his shorts.

“I’ve got a bottle of wine to take.” Thor nodded to a bottle he had placed on the table, seeing Peter’s confused expression, “Loki. Don’t know how but-” He sighed, “They hid in my suitcase.”

“Okay, shoes?” He wiggled his socked toes as spoke. Thor simply wiggled his foot in response, he already had his sneakers on, “You go ahead, I’ll get my shoes on and like, dry my hair a bit.”

“Sure. See you in a few.” Thor shone Peter a smile. Peter closed the door and Thor, chuckling at the flame shorts made his way to Peggy’s, wine bottle in hand.

The apartment door across the hall had had the door left ajar with a note reading “come in!” and a doodled smiley face. He could hear music playing from inside the apartment.

“Hi, guys!” Thor knocked on the wall as he entered. Peggy and Angie’s apartment was the same layout as Peter and Thor’s but mirrored. The two women were sat with their legs overlapping - they had somehow managed to squeeze themselves on their armchair together - as they spoke to Bucky and Steve who had taken their couch. Upon his cheery greeting, they all looked up and Peggy untwined herself from Angie, “I have wine, I’m still not entirely sure how though.” He held the wine bottle up, “My brother works in mysterious ways and they somehow managed to get this into my bag.”

“Oh, bless.” Peggy got up and walked towards him, she took the bottle in her hand and surveyed it, “This is alright stuff, your brother has good taste.” She nodded, “You don’t mind if we open it?”

“Go ahead, I don’t drink anyway.” He shrugged and grinned.

“Alright, come to the kitchen with me, we can sort you with something else then.” She flashed him a smile and lead him towards the kitchen. He opted for a soda. Peggy used actual glasses, not the shitty red solo cups Thor had become accustomed to seeing Loki grasp as they slept after a party, “Where’s Peter?” She asked, handing Thor a glass filled with coke and ice.

“He’s just coming.” He explained, “Thanks.” He took a sip and then beamed, “We’re doing the same course, aren’t we?”

“I believe so, yes. What books have you read in preparation?” Peggy was walking back to the living area.

“Well, most of them I found as free audiobooks so I listened to the ones I could while I was working.” Thor explained, “I used to paint and prep walls for a decorator so he let me listen to stuff while I worked.” He peered at the door as he followed Peggy and he couldn’t stop his chuckled as Peter peeked around the doorway, “Come on in, my love.” He called and Peter, still donning his flame shorts appeared, now wearing sneakers as well. Behind him, Mantis and Nebula loomed behind him.

“Oh good, everyone is here.” Angie announced, “Let’s play some games at last!”

Board games scattered Peggy and Angie’s floor. They had played and chatted and drank.

“Let’s go home and get pizza.” Peter’s voice was a warm tickle in Thor’s ear.

“Okay.” Thor nodded. Peter had drunk a little of the wine, though seemed to be feeling more than Bucky and Steve who had all but polished off the bottle. Perhaps Peter had drunk more than Thor had noticed.

They made their excuses and were the first to leave, Thor already ordering pizza from his phone. Their apartment was so quiet compared the one they had just left. It was a relief to already be making friends, especially for Thor who hadn’t been able to meet many LGBTQ+ people. There was just something about being around other members of the community that put him at ease. And Peter had looked happy all evening as he had rolled dice and put cards down with a flourish. He was half asleep when the doorbell rang, their pizza had arrived.

Having prepaid on his phone, he simply took the boxes from the delivery person and tipped him. Then he couldn’t find Peter. He had left him on the couch and he wasn’t in the kitchen.

“Peter, come and get your pizza.” He half shouted, aware that people were surely sleeping in their neighbouring apartment buildings.

“Pizza in bed!” Replied a muffled voice. Thor chuckled to himself and smiled. That man was too cute for his own good, and he didn’t even know. Peter was sat in the double bed, the comforter resting on his leg as he was texting someone. The sight of the bed seemed to let Thor’s body relax and finally let him feel tired. He passed the boxes to Peter and stripped quickly down to his underpants and replaced them with a hoodie and check pyjama trousers.

“You know,” He began, climbing into bed and grabbing a slice of pizza, “This bed is too good.”

“It is.” Peter hummed. He watched as Peter picked another slice up but he didn’t begin to eat it, “You know I, um-”

“Got into bed with me?” Peter flushed at Thor’s brashness, “I don’t mind. Honestly, it’s kinda nice, you’re cooler than I am.”

“No kidding, you’re like a freakin’ space heater, man.” He laughed, “So, should we like, not bother with the whole couch thing?”

“Works for me. We already have sides.” And he couldn’t help but smile. Peter was cute but straight, but he didn’t have to wake up in a cold bed, and something in him told him that Peter too was comforted by the thought of someone keeping him safe at night. They lapsed into silence and they ate, only breaking their silence to argue who would take the boxes to the bin (Thor won, Peter finally conceding when Thor pointed out that he had paid). Then they were too tired for anything else.

“Have I ever played you my music?” Peter muttered as they lay down, side by side, hands almost touching.

“You haven’t.” Thor confirmed, “Why?” He ran his hand through Peter’s hair as he leant towards him.

“Because I like sharing it with people like you.” And slowly Peter unlocked his phone, open Spotify and the opening notes of a song that Thor vaguely recognised played as his eyes drifted shut.

* * *

 

"What I find is pleasing and I'm feeling fine / Love is so confusing there's no peace of mind."

BLONDIE, Heart of Glass


	3. “Life is to be lived, not controlled”

“Life is to be lived, not controlled”

RALPH ELLISON, Invisible Man

* * *

 

The first term at Empire State had flown by, Thor and Peter had both found love in their respective courses. Thor had quickly befriended Peggy Carter, being on the same course, they had the same lectures and tutorials, meaning they spent plenty of time together and found more and more that they got along amazingly. Peter, on the other hand, was already buddies with most of his music class and would often hang out with Peggy’s wife, Angie, when their respective partners invited the other. They had the same loud and outgoing personality that made them a match. Often they ate dinner as a group, hanging out in one of the apartments. Often, due to the fact that Angie fell asleep in their apartment and Thor, having been used to carrying Loki to bed when they fell asleep on the couch (surprisingly, they were a similar size, Loki being taller), Thor had been entrusted with a key for Peggy’s apartment to let himself in (or for when Angie or Peggy inevitably left their keys inside). In response, Thor had given Peggy one of the spare keys for his apartment.

One afternoon, a few weeks into their second term, Thor was returning with Peggy from a tutorial with Mr Jarvis, one of his English professors. They had been reading one of his favourite books, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He loved the way the words sound in his head and his mouth and as they had analysed the text, he only loved it more. Peggy was in his tutorial group. It was a blessing to have one familiar face whichever subject he was in. They would wait for each other at the end of classes and have study sessions in the non-silent areas of the library. Sometimes, Angie and Peter would join, just for the company. When they had got to his apartment, they had found Peter dozing outside the door to Peter and Thor’s apartment.

“What are you doing?” Thor asked him, crouching and touching his shoulder, “Are you okay?” He was concerned, Peter took naps fairly regularly (apparently it was very common for college students, as he found when he had fallen asleep right in the middle of the library.)

“Forgot,” Peter mumbled, “my key.” He continued. He stretched and slowly stood.

“Isn’t Angie home?” Thor asked.

“She didn’t have any classes or plans this morning,” Peggy confirmed, she hadn’t bothered to unlock her door, Angie had left their door unlocked. Peter blinked, confused.

“But I wouldn’t be able to get in.” He complained. He was fully standing now and watching Thor dig in his pocket for the key.

“We keep a key, Peter. Thor doubtlessly told you.” Peggy smiled, “I’ll see you two for dinner, my flat.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“I did tell you.” Thor unlocked the door to their flat and walked in.

“I apparently forgot. How is Doctor Frankenstein?” This was something Peter did. Refer to characters as if they were real.

“Don’t know. Currently hanging out with his son. Did you know the creature is a vegetarian? Mary Shelley was too.” Thor kicked his shoes off by their shoe pile and neatened them with his toes, “How’s Billy Ocean?” Peter had been working on an essay on the singer and had been struggling with it. This morning he had a one-on-one session with his tutor to help him with it, per Thor’s request.

“He’s nearly out of my dreams and in my car. The body, conclusion and introduction are all written, so I just need to cite and abstract.” Peter too had his shoes off, and his jacket. He looked all ruffled and bleary-eyed and painfully cute.

“Good!” Thor shone him a smile that lit up their flat. “Oh!” He clapped his hands, “The LGBT Society is arranging for us to march in the pride parade next weekend.” Thor had joined the LGBT Society very early on. Peter had an excuse, the music society was on the same night and being a music student, he really needed to go to it, “I’m allowed to invite you to come with us, do you want to?”

Peter opened his mouth, thinking about what he’d have to get done by Saturday.

“You don’t have to if you’ve got too much work, that’s okay.” Thor babbled.

“No, I’ll come,” Peter interrupted, “it’ll be fun!” He grinned, “What do you think Peg is making for dinner?”

And so their lives continued. Lectures and tutorials and societies. And then it was the night before Pride. Thor was making food to take with them.

“That’s a lot of food,” Peter commented as he watched Thor cut a pizza into slices and place them neatly in a Tupperware.

“Bruce and Brunn are going to meet us and we’re having a picnic. The festival is in a field so it’s all good.” He put the lid on the Tupperware and place it in the fridge. He had cooked a bunch of freezer food and chopped fruits and vegetables, each thing individually in a box.

“And if it’s raining?” Peter swung his legs. He had sat on the counter where Thor usually perched when he cooked. Thor was still hopeless at cooking, but he was handy with a knife so typically would help him with onions and garlic and chopping meat.

“It’s not meant to, it should be okay.” He shrugged, “Do you think that’s enough food?”

“Yup.” He swung his body forward and off of the counter, “Do you think people get suspicious of us because we never do PDA?” He asked. Now he was pouring a glass of water from the water dispenser on the fridge. He couldn’t understand why a college apartment had a water dispenser, but he enjoyed the ice cold water nonetheless.

“Steve and Bucky don’t either.” Thor shrugged in response. He too had thought about that, “Besides, we hold hands a lot.” It was true. Peter liked to have his hand held, whenever they were out together, they had their hands interlocked.

“We’ll hold hands in the parade, do you have flags on sticks?” Peter actually felt excited now.

“Personally? No. But the society does.” Thor was grinning.

And then it was Saturday. Peter and Thor milled with the other members of the LGBT society, all the people in their building where there, flags wrapped around shoulders and rainbows on faces. Peter had bought two whistles on rainbow lanyards for a dollar each and had donned Thor and himself with one each. Thor’s face was shining like the sun above them, wide and bright and smiling. He had been correct that the society had flags on sticks and they each held one, Thor’s in his right hand and Peter’s in his left. Their flagless hands held that of the other.

“Alright, ladies.” Peggy’s voice was crisp and clear over the sound of Diana Ross’s hits, “We’ve got people carrying the banners, everyone else should stay close to the banner carriers and keep at a good speed.” Angie whooped at her wife, “We’ll take a picture and the parade should start in about ten minutes.” Everything Peggy said was heard and understood by each person. She gave commands like she had born to do so and had aided the arrangement of their society’s group going to the parade.

They posed for a picture, a student who Peter and Thor vaguely recognised took it. He grinned widely as his bisexual pride flag whipped about him, “It’s a good one!” He showed it to Peggy and gave her his contact details before returning to his friends. Then it began. They marched for ninety minutes. Thor shouted and whooped and blew his whistle and grinned the whole way.

When the parade finished, they were in a large park. Most of the park was a large grassy area with trees scattered around the border. A small portion was given to a children’s playground. The park heaved with people. There were stalls in tents selling various goods and a bouncy castle. At the front of the park, they had erected a stage, barriers and speakers.

“Brunn already has a place by the stage.” Thor half shouted to Peter, the music was loud here. They played hits from the 80s loud, filling the park and keeping the energy up. Peter was pleased with the music playing, he liked the era and he had to admit, the gays had good music taste. Thor took him by the hand and dragged him to the stage. There, lying on her back on a blanket, was Brunn. She had a bi pride flag under her legs and had her hair in a halo around her head. Next to her, sitting with one knee to his chest and the other stretched out was Bruce. He was all tousled hair and nervous smiles.

“Hi!” He smiled as he saw Thor.

“Hello!” Thor beamed, “This is Bruce and you know Brunn, Peter.” He introduced. Peter shook hands with Bruce. Brunn sat up and smiled. Thor half tackled her into a hug and she laughed.

“I missed you too!” She wrapped her arms around him. Peter found himself stifling a laugh as he sat down, sticking his flag into the ground by the blanket. Soon Peggy and Angie had joined them and they were all eating Thor’s food. Brunn had brought some, as had Peggy, that had been added to the picnic.

Peter noticed how calm Thor seemed surrounded by these people. He had danced with Brunn and Bruce until they were out of breath and needed to sit down. Peter felt odd. Brunn was his best friend and Thor had told him that he and Bruce just hadn’t worked out and decided to stay friends, so why did he feel the way he did?

“Hey, Pete?” Thor’s hand on Peter’s brought him out of his thought. He looked up into his face and was almost blinded from the light reflecting off of glitter that Brunn had applied earlier, “Do you want to go and have a look round the stalls and tents? We can get free things.”

“Sure.” His voice came out softer than he expected. In reality, he should’ve been prepared for that, he had been shouting to the lyrics of the songs the drag queens on the stage were performing. He stood and pulled Thor up. Hand in hand, they were about to walk away from the two when Brunn spoke up.

“That tent there-” She pointed to a tent that had no plastic windows and the door flap shut near the back of the park, “-that’s got a mini rave in there. It’s wicked.” She winked.

“And the stall next to it sells those big slabs of fudge, Thor.” Bruce chimed in. Thor thanked them both and began to walk around the edge of the park.

“Which do you want to go to first? They both sound pretty fun.” Thor asked, squeezing Peter’s hand gently.

 

“I kinda want to check out that rave tent Brunn recommended.” Peter gave Thor a sideways look, “Unless that’ll make you uncomfortable, I know you’re not that into parties.”

“Actually,” Thor’s cheek’s twitched, “I may not like parties, but this seems fun.” And he dragged Peter into the tent.

Inside it was dark, lit only by coloured strobe lights and filled with smoke coming from smoke machines in the corner. In a corner, there was a DJ playing music from a laptop hooked into a set. And it was full of people. Girls in lace bralettes and guys in string tops rubbed against one another. Peter’s hand was still held by Thor.

As they got into the swing of the music, they just bopped as they moved through the crowd, getting closer into the crowd. Thor brought Peter to the centre and pulled him close. He slowly began to move more to the music. Shoulders moving at first. The left then the right. And then his hips started moving and he was holding both of Peter’s hand. There was some remix of Groove is in the Heart playing and Thor, apparently, had heard it and his body moved with each beat, perfectly to the rhythm.

And then it happened.

Thor slut dropped. And when he rose back, he was close to Peter’s body, he could feel Thor’s breath on him. On his stomach and chest and then softly on his neck. And he was getting- he was getting hard? And, Jesus, he was embarrassed and he could feel his heart throughout his entire body. But he danced, trying to hide his sudden reaction and not letting Thor see his flushed face.

“You look hot!” Thor shouted. Peter’s insides squirmed before Thor could speak again. The music was so loud that you had to shout to be heard, “Do you want to go out?”

“Please!” Peter shouted back. He felt somewhat relieved that that was all Thor was talking about.

They squeezed out of the crowd and squinted in the sunlight. They strolled through the stalls and Thor bought himself some fudge from Bruce’s suggested stall and they both bought bottled water from another.

“We should take Brunn and Bruce for a drink, non-alcoholic, of course,” Peter suggested, this time he took Thor’s hand in his, “Or we could go home? Whichever you prefer?”

“We can go for a drink, that’ll be fun.” Thor nodded. Peter’s smile melted into a frown.

“Did you not see them over the Christmas break?” He asked.

“Plane tickets were too expensive for Bruce to come home over Christmas. And it’s not like his dad pays for anything. He’s in prison for killing Bruce’s mother.” He explained, “And I saw Brunn a little on Christmas day, but we were both working.” He shrugged.

“Bruce’s dad killed his mom?” Peter was taken aback, though it would explain Bruce’s shy, withdrawn personality.

“Yeah, it’s why he goes by his middle name, his mom wanted Bruce but his dad wanted Robert.” 

“Huh.” He pondered this as Thor walked them back to where they could see Brunn’s brown head bouncing as she danced to a more modern pop song.

It only took a few minutes to convince Brunn and Bruce that it was a good idea to go for a drink, and even then, it was Peter, Thor and Brunn all trying to persuade Bruce. But he agreed with a defeated sigh.

“Under one condition.” He demanded and the others nodded, telling him with earnest eyes to continue, “And if you don’t agree, I don’t come.”

“Fair enough. What’s your condition?” Thor smirked at his ex.

“We go to a coffee shop. Not a bar.” Brunn groaned at the suggestion but nodded in concession, “Good. I know a place.” Bruce led them through the city with confidence. Thor had left Peter’s hand go as they walked and was busy texting someone.

The coffee shop was a decent size and fairly full, they found a free booth near the back and placed their stuff down. Thor dove into his backpack and pulled his wallet out.

“So, mocha?” Thor pointed at Peter, who nodded as he sat down and moved up.

“I’ll have an Earl Grey, no milk.” Bruce piped up, sitting opposite to Peter.

“Brunn?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll go look. I can always help you carry stuff back to the table.” She suggested and turned, starting to walk towards the coffee bar.

“Hey, Thor?” Bruce started, Thor looked at him with intent, “If they have a coffee and walnut cake, get me a slice, will you?” Thor’s face split in a grin and he nodded. Then he looked at Peter as if to ask ‘do you want anything?’

“Surprise me?” He shrugged and once more, Thor’s head nodded yes.

“So,” Bruce began, watching Thor catch up with Brunn, “I know it was, y’ know-” He made eye contact with Peter and mouthed  _ ‘fake’  _ “-fast. But Thor really seems to be doing well with you. He likes you a lot and I hope you keep him safe and happy. He’ll tell you when he’s ready but,” Bruce rubbed his face, “he’s been through a lot. So just,” He sighed, “be good to him. He deserves it. He’s the best.” Peter was taken aback. Half at Bruce’s words and the remaining half at how they made him feel.

“I know he’s the best.” Peter shrugged, “But I don’t think you did.” He looked away from the other man as he spoke, staring at where he had lost sight of Thor.

“No. I didn’t.” Bruce acknowledged, “I was stupid for breaking up with him but-” He copied Peter’s shrug, “-he’s over it.” Peter opened his mouth to respond, but Thor and Brunn had appeared next to the table, the former carrying a tray of drinks and the latter a tray with a couple of cakes on it.

“You two okay?” Thor asked, placing the drinks in front of the correct person. He had opted for hot chocolate in a tall glass mug whereas Brunn had a large cafe latte. Both men made sounds of agreement, “They didn’t have the coffee walnut so I got you a coffee cheesecake instead, Brucie. And I got you key lime, Pete.” He pointed to the individual cakes on Brunn’s tray. Once Thor and Brunn had sat down (Thor next to Peter and Brunn next to Bruce), Peter could finally breathe again.

For over an hour, somehow, they managed to chat and laugh and Peter drove what Bruce had said about Thor out of his head. And then Thor had made an excuse and left with Peter looking bewildered.

“Why did you leave?” Peter asked as they walked beside each other.

“You looked tired.” Thor said, “And I was getting people tired.” Peter smiled at him and they walked back to the apartment together.

“I’m going to shower, if you want to go for a nap, that’s okay.” Thor told Peter as they walked through the door. Peter considered this briefly, he wanted to sleep, Thor was right, he was tired, but also he wanted to talk to someone, anyone, about the day.

Gamora was a safe bet, she usually answered him as soon as he called and he didn’t think she’d mind. He inhaled and pressed the call button, hardly aware of the sound of the phone ringing.

“Peter?” Her voice was clear and crisp.

“Hey!” And now, as he spoke to her, he could feel his heart pounding.

“One sec, I need to grab my charger.” She said. There were rustling sounds in the background and Peter took the break to pat his pocket, confirming that his lanyard with his keys attached to them, and stepped out into the corridor, “Okay, what’s up?”

“I went to pride today.” He began and then he found that he didn’t know what he wanted to say. He needed to talk about holding hands with Thor and how nice it felt to have someone’s hand to take his. Thor had bigger hands than him and could perfectly cup it around his like they were two pieces of a jigsaw.

“Oh yeah, how was it?” She seemed curious, “You went with Thor and his friends?”

“We went with our building and some of the LGBT society, yeah.” He realised he was shaking as he spoke, “Can you promise me that you won’t tell anyone some of this?”

“Sure, I promise. Why?”

And Peter told each thing that happened in the day, from the hand holding to Thor grinding on him. Once he started, he couldn’t stop each word from spilling out of him, “And now I’m confused.” He had, whilst talking, sat down on the floor, “I think I like guys.”

“Oh.” She paused and then recovered herself, “You know that’s fine? To like guys, I mean.”

“I just don’t know if I like just guys or if I’m like bi or pan. I just-” He groaned.

“There’s no need to label it just now. You can just like Thor, if that’s making you happy.” There was a muffled shout from the other end of the phone and Gamora shouted in reply. “I have to go, Peter, I’ll talk to you soon. Call me anytime, I’ll always be here for you.” And it was impossible for Peter to ignore the longing in her voice.

“Alright, I’ll see you.” He hung up the phone, hearing Gamora saying goodbye once more. As he was about to stand up, the door to their apartment opened and Thor, wet-haired and looking concerned, peered out. He beamed when he saw Peter.

“Are you ready for some dinner? We have leftovers.” He offered Peter his hand. Peter took and pulled himself up, in the act of getting up, he had stood a little closer to Thor than he had expected.

“I’m always ready for dinner.” He grinned up at Thor, only a few inches from his face, and pecked his cheek. He turned, walking into the apartment and hiding his flushed face.

* * *

 

"New York City is the place where they said: / Hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side."

LOU REED, Walk On The Wild Side

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thank you for reading! If you want to have a say in the choices, my thread of thread is pinned on my twitter profile and Escape is third added tweet with the pink and yellow theme!


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